Executive Pay Dispersion in Chinese Listed Firms

摘要

Using individual executive compensation data on Chinese listed firms between 2000 and 2011, we find that Chinese executive pay dispersion is negatively associated with early voluntary disclosure, positively associated with foreign-control, and positively associated with industry norm. We also find that executive pay dispersion is significantly higher in firms with high industry discretion and significantly lower in firms located in more developed regions. After controlling for endogeneity, we find that Chinese executive pay dispersion is positively associated with firm performance. We also find that CEOs in firms with higher pay dispersion are more likely to turnover in case of poor firm performance. Overall, our results suggest that institutions matter in the determination of Chinese executive pay dispersion.